A net balance of 19% of property professionals saw new buyer inquiries fall rather than rise, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said.

While home buyer inquiries appear to be dropping, it is the least negative reading recorded since January and the fifth improvement in a row, according to the monthly report.

A net balance of 17% of property professionals saw a fall in agreed sales, which was the least negative reading since February and an improvement from April’s low of a balance of 38% of professionals who reported sales sliding.

Expectations for sales over the next three months also moved closer to neutral territory, with a net balance of 3% of professionals expecting a fall, improving from a balance of 13% in July who expected to see sales decrease.

Looking 12 months ahead, a positive net balance of 6% of professionals predict higher sales volumes, compared with 3% previously, also pointing to a modest improvement in confidence.

House prices remained under downward pressure, Rics said, with a net balance of 28% of professionals seeing falls, compared with a net balance of 29% seeing price falls in July.

This indicates a gradual improvement from April’s net balance of 35%.

London’s price balance remained more negative than the average, although it improved on July, Rics said.

Professionals in Northern Ireland continued to report rising prices, while the North West of England maintained a period of gentle price growth.

The flow of new sales listings was broadly unchanged, with the new instructions net balance at zero, compared with minus 2% in July.

In the lettings market, rising tenant demand and constrained supply continued to put upward pressure on rents.

The net balance of professionals expecting rents to rise over the next three months increased to 44%, from 33% in July.

Over the next 12 months, professionals expect UK rents to increase by around 3% on average.

Rics head of market research and analysis, Tarrant Parsons, said: “August’s results show a market that is gradually finding its footing, with key activity indicators having become progressively less negative over recent months.”

But he said any potential recovery “remains fragile”, highlighting uncertainty over the future direction of borrowing costs and the October budget.

Mr Parsons said: “Headwinds over the shorter term remain pronounced, even though recent market trends have appeared more stable.”

The Rics report was released as property website Rightmove said it had recorded a back-to-school “bounce” in the first week of September.

Buyer demand increased by 5% between September 1 and 5 annually, significantly outpacing the average increase of 0.4% seen over the same period during the past five years, the website said.

Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said: “This year’s back-to-school bounce is a welcome sign after a summer that brought the usual holiday distractions alongside several spells of exceptionally hot weather.

“It’s encouraging to see buyers getting on with their moving plans and returning to the market as we head into the autumn season.”

Rightmove defined demand as the number of unique enquirers to listings.